Will Congress fight Obama on NASA's return to the moon?

Douglas MacKinnon believes they must:

Sadly, for the future of our children, grandchildren and the security and prosperity of our nation, it's now official: President Barack Obama has killed our human-spaceflight program.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who listens to President Obama. He signaled his intentions loud and clear when he was Sen. Obama and still on the campaign trail. In late 2007, candidate Obama went on record as saying he planned to pay for his $18 billion education plan by taking it out of the hide of NASA.

For those who still strongly believe it's imperative that the United States human-spaceflight program remain pre-eminent, they need to face this cold, hard fact. The president thinks it's a complete waste of time and money. Period.

In the president's new budget, there is no money for the Constellation program. This is the next-generation human-launch system replacing the all-but-retired space-shuttle fleet, which was being developed to return our astronauts to the moon.

So, no money for Ares I, no money for the Ares V cargo rockets, and no money for our astronauts to get themselves into space.

No. For at least the next decade or more, that critically important arena will be left to the People's Republic of China with its military-run space program, Russia, India and the European Union. For politically correct reasons, Obama has unilaterally and quite irresponsibly and dangerously decided that the United States is out of the human-spaceflight business.

Contrast his incredibly shortsighted vision for NASA with the inspirational, pointed and factual words spoken by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 with regard to our space program:

"…We mean to be part of it — we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond…our leadership in science and in industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us…to become the world's leading spacefaring nation."

Not if you are President Obama.

MacKinnon goes on to write of the military implications of this decision, particularly as it relates to China.  The stakes seem high yet Obama's vision and foresight incredibly low.

It's sad in many respects.  NASA, though more recently flawed and perhaps suffering from the inevitable inefficiencies of a bureaucratic government agency, has historically delivered, added value to society and brought the nation together.  I can remember the Apollo missions, the first few Shuttle launches, and more recently the successes of the Mars Rover missions but more specifically, I can remember the discussions, the coffee pot chats, yes, the unity that these endeavors brought and it seems to me that now is a time when the country could once again use unity and common purpose.

Obama apparently thinks differently.  No surprise.

I join MacKinnon and others in cajoling this Congress to fight Obama's myopia and historical ignorance.

The country would benefit from that fight.

Comments

[Locutisprime]

Hello....there is no money for anything in his 1.9 trillion dollar pipe dream of a budget.

Our future is borrowed. Our very existence is borrowed. WE as a nation are living on borrowed time.

Whether we have a NASA or not is not really important. He is about to so the same thing to the military and health care. So take your pick.

[Locksmith]

I disagree with practically every position Obama has on everything, except this. For all the money spent I can't see where we are gaining a lot out of manned space flights. The money could be better spent on other things.

[J.A.C.K.]

For those of you who can't see what we owe to NASA, Remember that the next time you use your microwave, you listen to your radio, or the next time you talk to your loved ones on the cell pohne.

[Jones Scott]

It would be such an anticlimax if the peak of the human civilization was us standing on the moon. Space voyage needs to continue, we need to colonize other planets. One cannot eternally live in a cradle.

[Mike Car]

Obama needs to realize the large impact NASA has and continues to have on the United States. The technology for the space missions and the actual data from the missions gratly benefit mankind. Without the Space missions, human technological advancement wil fall far behind.

[Stephen Wilson]

Already, President Obama's call to privatize NASA research and development saves taxpayers millions.

[Campbell]

One of the bigger problems NASA has faced the past twenty years is delays and the lack of will of past administrations to promote and fund the vision of space travel and exploration. We let the shuttle drag on for too long and wasted money on the international space station.

Completing Ares 1 and a command module should be a priority. The United States needs a reliable service vehicle to replace the shuttle as soon as possible while we continue to do research on new propulsion systems. Spending 9 billion to develop the program and then turn around and blow 2.5 billion to kill it is irresponsible, but that's Obama's style.

Obama does not want manned space travel because that would create jobs, new technologies and advances in science in the private sector for America. A moon base was to be developed because it is far easier to launch from the moon to other parts of the solar system and beyond then from earth requiring the development and use of new propulsion systems. The key was to develop a self sustaining operation using reusable manned and unmanned space craft. A process to actually support true space survival.

Space exploration is about human exploration and discovery of the unknown and all the risks associated with it, but Obama continues to convince the American people everyday that he fears that challenge and that of human evolution. Welcome to the Obama cage.

Obama will spend billions on a climate hoax, a speedy train to nowhere or on "green energy gimmicks" (wind power) but nothing that would advance human kind and science that would sustain our economy for generations. I personally believe that NASA should complete Ares 1 and Ares V and put a docking station in permanent Lunar orbit within 5 years and begin to test advanced propulsion systems. That's right, 5 years not ten. We need to stop dragging our feet people.

[Matt Fairchild]

Alot of people never stop to consider sch thing as I am going to bring up here Obama is way out of line with his thinking he wans to spand 1/5 trillion a year on universal health care another 150 billion a year on a national train system but he refuses to fund Human space flight which is the only area of the goverment I know that has a ten fold returrn to the economy stuff likr velcro microwaves certin medicine and health breakthoughs and even the temper pedic bed some of you sleep on at night we owe NASA a great deal we shouldnt turn our back on it now we should give it the money it needs we have been negelecting it for years and we need to stop I predict some sort of catastophre if we dont not to mention the threat we face now from the russians and china you dont think they are sitting in rooms now far away asking how can we take advantage of this keep in mind that russia just raised the price of buying a seat on one of their rockets to the international space station and now we have basicially advertised that they have us by the balls so they can raise the price on us and dont get me started on China remember it only took us 7 years to get to the moon i predict if nothing is done to hult this situation by 2011 China will be sending people to the moon and probes to mars setting up to go there I also predict b next year as wel they will start setting up a permanet space station can you imagine what will happen if they are allowed to do thos